Out of the hundreds of thousands of iPhone applications, there are bound to be a few that actually serve a purpose and/or are useful. I’ve highlighted a few on this blog before, but never have I seen an app that is intended to serve as an actual instrument of measure for renewable energy system installation; until now.
The Windspire me! app from Mariah Power (makers of the vertical Windspire wind turbine) is a new app about to be released that will allow you to measure wind speed with your iPhone as well as tell you what you can power with a Windspire turbine or how much CO2 emissions you can save.
But there’s no wind gauge on the iPhone you say? Well, there is…sort of. The program uses the microphone on the iPhone to measure the noise of the wind and then calculates the speed based on decibel level. To improve accuracy, the app filters out ambient sound, though for the most accurate reading it is suggested that you measure in as close to quiet conditions as possible, i.e. avoid louder noises like lawn mowers, blowers, chain saws, ridiculous music, etc.
All a user has to do is hold the phone parallel to the ground and pointed in the direction of the wind for 20 seconds. The app does the rest. The company claims the measurements are accurate within 1.5 mph. Measurements can also be uploaded to Mariah Power’s database to help form a more accurate wind speed map for the country.
The Good: A functional app that turns the iPhone into a wind speed gauge.
The Bad: While this app may serve a function, it is largely useless to the majority of iPhone users seeing as the necessary sustained wind speeds for Windspire turbines (~10-12 mph) can only be found in about 10-15% of the country.
The Bottom-Line: A pretty cool app that serves it’s purpose to an extent, but is more of a marketing tool for Mariah Power.
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